POP MUSIC REVIEW : Quick Wit Helps Get Mr. T Experience Through a Jam

For 10 years, the Mr. T Experience, led by the crafty singer-guitarist-songwriter known as Dr. Frank, has been poking fun at popular culture, the world at large and itself with spunky, punk-pop gems such as “Danny Partridge Got Busted,” “The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be” and “Dumb Little Band.” The quick wit that is the essence of the group’s songs was also what got it through a rough but colorful set at the Troubadour on Sunday.

The Berkeley trio had just launched into its second number when Dr. Frank’s guitar cut out. While waiting for someone to find a new guitar cord, bassist Joel Reader turned what might have been a long and awkward pause into an off-the-cuff stand-up comedy routine. But despite an energetic performance, the technical problems persisted, and after only 40 minutes the group ended the evening with a rollicking rendition of the adjective song from “Schoolhouse Rock.”

The Mr. T Experience was one of the architects of the Gilman Street scene in the East Bay that eventually nurtured mega-punks Rancid and Green Day (whose names crop up ironically in “Dumb Little Band”). If the members haven’t enjoyed as much attention as their proteges, it’s because they’ve outsmarted the mainstream.